Robot balances on unicycle

The latest star in the Japan robot circus: Kyoto precision parts maker Murata Manufacturing has unveiled a unicycle-riding robot called Seiko-chan.

The 50 cm-tall robot can go forward and back on one wheel and come to a full stop without toppling over.

It uses the same gyro sensor and flywheel technology that went into Murata Boy, the firm's popular bicyclist robot. Kids who saw the biker asked the firm to create a unicyclist, and a female employee designed its look.

The diminutive performer can be controlled via Bluetooth, and is also equipped with an obstacle sensor and a video camera.

Four Seiko-chan robots have been created and they will be shown in Japan and overseas. They will also be loaned to schools for use as a teaching aid. There are no plans to market it as of yet.

The name recalls megastar Seiko Matsuda, a 1980s pop idol after whom industrial robots were sometimes named.